was halfway through the kitchen before he managed to call back a goodnight of his own. He stood in the doorway and waited until he heard her ascending the stairs before closing his door and dialling Rupert’s number.
‘Before you launch into a tirade and tell me what an idiot I am, let me apologise. I’m calling myself far worse names than you ever will. I’d have not scared Audra for the world. I was going to call you in the morning to let you know I was here.’ He’d had no notion Audra would be here. It was a little early in the season for any of the Russels to head for the island.
Rupert’s long sigh came down the phone, and it made Finn’s gut churn. ‘What are you doing in Kyanós?’ his friend finally asked. ‘I thought you were in Nice.’
‘The, uh, cast came off yesterday.’
‘And you couldn’t blow off steam on the French Riviera?’
He scrubbed a hand down his face. ‘There’s a woman I’m trying to avoid and—’
‘You don’t need to say any more. I get the picture.’
Actually, Rupert was wrong. This time. It wasn’t a romantic liaison he’d tired of and was fleeing. But he kept his mouth shut. He deserved Rupert’s derision. ‘If you want me to leave, I’ll clear out at first light.’
His heart gave a sick kick at the long pause on the other end of the phone. Rupert was considering it! Rupert was the one person who’d shown faith in him when everyone else had written him off, and now—
‘Of course I don’t want you to leave.’
He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath.
‘But...’
His eyes crashed open. His heart started to thud. ‘But?’
‘Don’t go letting Audra fall in love with you. She’s fragile at the moment, Finn...vulnerable.’
He stiffened. ‘Whoa, Rupe! I’ve no designs on your little sister.’
‘She’s exactly your type.’
‘Except she’s your sister.’ He made a decision then and there to leave in the morning. He didn’t want Rupert worrying about this. It was completely unnecessary. He needed to lie low for a few weeks and Kyanós had seemed like the perfect solution, but not at the expense of either Rupert’s or Audra’s peace of mind.
‘That said, I’m glad you’re there.’
Finn stilled.
‘I’m worried about her being on her own. I’ve been trying to juggle my timetable, but the earliest I can get away is in a fortnight.’
Finn pursed his lips. ‘You want me to keep an eye on her?’
Again there was a long pause. ‘She needs a bit of fun. She needs to let her hair down.’
‘This is Audra we’re talking about.’ She was the most buttoned-up person he knew.
‘You’re good at fun.’
His lips twisted. He ought to be. He’d spent a lifetime perfecting it. ‘You want me to make sure she has a proper holiday?’
‘Minus the holiday romance. Women like you, Finn...they fall for you.’
‘Pot and kettle,’ he grunted back. ‘But you’re worrying for nothing. Audra has more sense than that.’ She had always disapproved of him and what she saw as his irresponsible and daredevil lifestyle.
What had happened eight weeks ago proved her point. What if the next time he did kill himself? The thought made his mouth dry and his gut churn. His body was recovering but his mind... There were days when he was a maelstrom of confusion, questioning the choices he was making. He gritted his teeth. It’d pass. After such a close brush with mortality it had to be normal to question one’s life. Needless to say, he wasn’t bringing anyone into that mess at the moment, especially not one who was his best friend’s little sister.
‘If she had more sense she’d have not fallen for Farquhar.’
Finn’s hands fisted. ‘Tell me the guy is toast.’
‘I’m working on it.’
Good.
‘I’ve tried to shield her from the worst of the media furore, but...’
‘But she has eyes in her head. She can read the headlines for herself.’ And those headlines had been everywhere. It’d been smart of Rupert to pack Audra off to the island.
‘Exactly.’ Rupert paused again. ‘None of the Russels have any sense when it comes to love. If we did, Audra wouldn’t have been taken in like she was.’
And she was paying for it now. He recalled her pallor, the dark circles beneath her eyes...the effort it’d taken her to lift his backpack. He could help with some of that—get her out into the sun, challenge her to swimming contests...and maybe even get her to run with him. He could make sure she ate three square meals a day.
‘If I’d had more sense I’d have not fallen for Brooke Manning.’
‘Everyone makes a bad romantic decision at least once in their lives, Rupe.’
He realised he sounded as if he were downplaying what had happened to his friend, and he didn’t want to do that. Rupert hadn’t looked at women in the same way after Brooke. Finn wasn’t sure what had happened between them. He’d been certain they were heading for matrimony, babies and white picket fences. But it had all imploded, and Rupert hadn’t been the same since. ‘But you’re right—not everyone gets their heart shredded.’ He rubbed a hand across his chest. ‘Has Farquhar shredded her heart?’
‘I don’t know.’
Even if he hadn’t, he’d stolen company secrets from the Russel Corporation while posing as her attentive and very loving boyfriend. That wasn’t something a woman like Audra would be able to shrug off as just a bad experience.
Poor Squirt.
He only realised he’d said that out loud when Rupert said with a voice as dry as a good single malt, ‘Take a look, Finn. I think you’ll find Squirt is all grown up.’
He didn’t need to look. The less looking he did, the better. A girl like Audra deserved more than what a guy like him could give her—things like stability, peace of mind, and someone she could depend on.
‘It’d be great if you could take her mind off things—make her laugh and have some fun. I just don’t want her falling for you. She’s bruised and battered enough.’
‘You’ve nothing to worry about on that score, Rupe, I promise you. I’ve no intention of hurting Audra. Ever.’
‘She’s special, Finn.’
That made him smile. ‘All of the Russel siblings are special.’
‘She’s
